'True Detective' finale hits ratings high

Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson went out with a bang: Sunday’s finale of True Detective posted record ratings for HBO.

The final episode of the anthology averaged a series high of 3.5 million viewers – up over 50% from the premiere (2.3 million). Across three telecasts on Sunday, the series also hit a record 4.9 million viewers.

Season-to-date, the gross audience for the drama was 11 million viewers. True Detective represents HBO’s most-watched freshman series since Six Feet Under’s premiere in 2001 (11.4 million).

True Detective has already been picked up for another season. Creator Nic Pizzolatto told EW that he’s still fleshing out the idea but the basic idea is “hard women, bad men, and the secret occult history of the U.S. transportation system. I was well on my way in the writing but there’s been a lot noise and work around the end of the first season that got in the way.”